Struggling over which window treatments to get for your doors? Well, read on because the following article will provide some ideas on what’s available.
First, door window treatments can be broken down into two main categories: French doors, single doors with window features and sliding glass doors. This article will focus on French doors which are more commonly decorated with some kind of window covering. If you have a single door with a large pane of glass, the recommendations in this article still apply. If you’d like to read more about window treatments for sliding glass doors, click here.
When choosing door window treatments, typically there are two things to consider. First, it needs to be functional. Since most French doors have decorative handles that could interfere with the operation of a blind or shade, you’ll want to choose a window treatment that is not very deep so that can hang close against the door. You don’t want cords and fabric getting caught in the door or getting in the way of entering or exiting. Secondly, your privacy and light control needs will play an important part in selecting a French door blind or shade. If you plan on regularly raising and lowering your shade, you’ll want something that won’t get tangled up on the door handle. If you plan on leaving the shade pulled down, you should order the hold down brackets option when customizing your blind – these are installed on the door to keep the bottom of the shade in place.
Based on that criteria, the following are some top choices to consider:
Roller shades for French doors
For a more contemporary look, roller shades are the perfect choice. And, they offer many light control and privacy options from sheer to blackout as well as numerous colors to compliment almost any decor. If you are interested in roller shades, I recommend choosing the standard roll option (instead of reverse roll) which will allow the shade to hang flush against your French door.
Wood Blinds for French doors are the classic choice, offering a more traditional look that coordinates well with interior themes from country cottage to
upscale conservatory. They come in a variety of stains and paint colors in natural hues from white to dark brown, even black. If you want to coordinate wood blinds with a more contemporary decor, you could choose the painted variety in white or black. Due to the smaller size of the window on a French door, you’ll want to choose the one inch wood blinds, also known as wood mini blinds. Wood blinds are preferred over faux wood blinds because of their light weight.
Door sheer shades
Sheer shades are unique and versatile. They are actually a hybrid of a shade and a blind, featuring two sheer fabric facings over soft fabric slats (like on a blind, only not made of metal or plastic). And, there are specially designed sheer door shades that offer the tilt feature only (you can’t raise or lower the entire shade, just open or close the slats for light control) and can lay flat against the door for privacy and easy door operation. Sheer shades for doors offer soft light filtering, contemporary looks and, generally come in soft neutral colors.
